
Rochelle Wilner President	Frank Dimant Chief Executive Officer	Prof. Stephen Scheinberg National Chair	Ruth Klein National Director of Advocacy

1998 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents

HATE IN THE SCHOOLS

Racism and antisemitism in Canada’s schools and universities continue to present a serious problem. Only in an environment where all students feel welcome can we expect everyone to learn to their full potential. Universities should be a place where the constant pursuit of the truth should be actualized without bias. Nowhere in society is freedom of speech more important than in higher education. However, allowing hate groups on campus, or inappropriate sentiments to be voiced under the guise of freedom of speech is in direct conflict with academic freedom. Academics have a duty to pursue the truth without bias. Hate speech constitutes preconceived notions of inequality and inferiority stemming from bias. Antisemitic conspiracy theories are totally circular and non-academic, thereby exempt from the protection of academic freedom. One cannot actively pursue truth without bias if one has already predetermined what the truth is, based on racial prejudice.

1998 saw disturbing antisemitic trends at every level of the education system. In elementary schools, children across Canada, particularly those isolated from larger Jewish communities, continued to be victims of racial slurs and violence. These students are especially vulnerable during the Christmas season when Jewish students can feel marginalized in Christmas celebrations or during the singing of carols that mention Jesus specifically. Often both teachers and students are afraid to admit that they have a problem with antisemitism and the issue goes by unresolved. Elementary school students are not the only victims of antisemitism. The reports from Quebec and Ottawa cited earlier in this document highlight some of the more serious incidents in colleges and universities. In Toronto, a high school teacher received in the mail a photocopy of her yearbook picture with a swastika drawn over her face, and a dean at one university was sent a hate letter and a photocopy of the cover of Henry Ford’s antisemitic book The International Jew. Furthermore, students being coerced to write exams on the High Holidays or on the Sabbath is evidence that systemic discrimination continues to be a serious problem. Of even greater concern is the tremendous amount of fear of reporting incidents that occur in school settings. At every workshop or seminar conducted by the League, both students and teachers report fear of reprisals, worries about exacerbating antisemitism or being labelled a "whining Jew" as powerful deterrents to speaking up in such situations as fighting for holy day observance or being made to feel uncomfortable by slurs, even to the point of tears. These trends, including an alarming amount of racist, sexist, homophobic and antisemitic graffiti found in universities as described above, indicate that ignorance still has a stronghold in some of Canada’s educational institutions.

B’nai Brith has long realized the importance of education in fighting antisemitism, both on campus and off. In October, B’nai Brith invited Yehudit Barsky, Senior Middle East Research Analyst from the Anti-Defamation League to conduct a speaking tour that included briefings for representatives of Jewish student organizations. The lectures exposed radical Islamic terrorist organizations in Canada that may be recruiting and fundraising on university campuses. B’nai Brith has long been concerned about the rise on university campuses of antisemitic propaganda such as The International Jew or The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which are being passed off under the guise of anti-Israel commentary. Intellectual debate on Israel and its politics is one thing; to surround that debate under the guise of an alleged international Jewish conspiracy is quite another.